To Better The Shattered; Scott McCall [2] ✔

1.80 In Which They Rave (part two)

No matter how much she loved Scott, this wasn't a priority for them anymore. Besides, they hadn't really been dating in months. They'd barely even been friends.

So much for forever, she thought bitterly.

;

If Matt noticed her change in demeanour, he didn't comment on it. He just wrapped his arms around her again and danced.

Earlier, it had disappointed her how different Matt was to Scot, but now it was a welcome change. She didn't think she could handle anymore supernatural drama for the rest of the night.

"Can we take a break?" she said after a while, "My feet are killing me."

"Sure," Matt lead her to one of the tables. His mouth twitched strangely,"Um, give me a second. I'll get us some drinks."

"Okay, thanks," Ellie sighed, flattening her arms on the table and resting her head on them. She didn't count how long her date was gone, but figured it had to have been at least thirty minutes before he dropping into the chair opposite her and handed her a cup.

"Sorry, long line," he apologised. They were quiet, listening to the deafening thud of the music resound around them, for a few moments. "You're not having a good time, are you?"

"Do you ever feel like you're trying so hard to help, but you're only making on mistake after another?" she asked instead of answering.

He grinned, "No. Unlike the rest of humanity, I'm perfect." They both let out light laughs, and she turned her head to smile at him. A weird atmosphere was surrounding the pair. It was charged, like the air was sizzling, and Ellie was so confused by it that she didn't realise he was leaning in until he was kissing her.

Shocked, it took her longer to react than it should have, but she still managed to yank herself back. "Wha..."

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry," Matt rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I shouldn't have done that; it was a huge mistake. I'm really – I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"No, stop, it's... it's okay. Well, no, actually, it's not okay at all. I – I have to, uh, I'll be right back. Sorry." She hurried away, bile rising in her throat.

When Ellie had convinced herself to return, Matt seemed to understand that it was time for them to leave. An awkward silence settled over them as they headed out to the car. Ellie didn't want to lead him on any more than she already had, and talking to him after kissing him for any length of time made her want to vomit.

"So," he said as they stopped on the side of the road, "About that incredibly bad idea I had..."

"You mean the kiss?" she asked, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. The boy looked so embarrassed she almost felt sorry for him.

"Yeah, uh, that's the one."

"Don't worry about it. I understand that I'm so good looking some people find me irresistible."

"Really? You're not upset, or creeped out, or mad, or anything?"

"Nope," she smiled genuinely. "No worries."

"... So what's going on with you and Scott?"

"Me and Scott?"

"Are you guys still... seeing each other?"

"Not really."

"'Not really'?" Matt laughed sadly, "That doesn't sound too promising."

Ellie sighed. "Would you understand if I said it was complicated?"

"Not really," he smirked, eyes shining when she giggled in reply. "But I'll try." Matt put his hand on the door, ready to leave, "Goodnight, Ellie. I hope we can do this again sometime."

"Maybe," she allowed. "Night, Matt."

He slipped out of the car, and she sighed, rubbing a hand down her face. Her eyes caught on an unfamiliar black object in the passenger's seat, and she was surprised to see Matt's camera. When she'd picked him up earlier, he'd been holding it, but he'd left it in the car while they were in the club. She supposed he must have forgot it was there.

Ellie picked it up carefully, not wanting to break it, and remembered all of the times she'd seen him taking pictures. Curious, she turned the camera on and pressed a few buttons, trying to see the photos he had saved.

The first few were of the lacrosse team, from the last game, and they were actually pretty good. A smile formed on her face, but a second later it was gone, terrified horror in its place. The rest were all pictures of her. Her in the hallways, her in the chemistry classroom with Erica, her in the school swimming pools, her in her bedroom.

Matt must have been stockpiling these for months. He was stalking her.

There was a loud knock on the window, and Ellie's head snapped up. He was standing there, eyeing the device in her hands, and, as if on reflex, she clicked the locks.

He tried to open the door, but it didn't move, and suddenly Ellie was finding it very hard to breathe. "Open the window," he mouthed.

Hesitantly, she rolled it down a couple of inches, enough to fit the camera through. "I forgot my camera," he told her, as if she wasn't holding it.

"Um, yeah, I just noticed," Ellie gave a tense smile, extending her arm to give it to him.

His lips titled into a lecherous smirk. "There are some good pictures on there, don't you think?"

"Yeah," she said, trying not to sound as scared as she felt. "The lacrosse ones were great. You're really talented."

"There was..." Matt withdrew his arm slowly. "There was a good candid of you on there, too."

"Really?"

"You can see some of the others, if you'd like," he suggested. "This screen doesn't really do it justice, you know? I can show you some on my computer."

"I would like that," she lied. "But, uh, maybe another night. I have a curfew."

He raised an eyebrow, "Just a few minutes?"

"Another night," she said again. "It's getting late."

"Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"I have to go," Ellie turned on the engine quickly, hand shaking. "That reading list won't read itself."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure. See you around." She drove away, rolling up the window as she went.

In the back of her mind, she wondered who would kill Matt first if she told anyone about those photos: Uncle Chris or Scott?

a/n hope you guys liked this! When I was writing about Ellie and Scott I was honestly nearly crying because I ship them so much and I don't want them to be sad.

Thank you all for reading, hope Matt didn't creep you out too much.

Until next time!

xoxoxo